United In Love and Faith (Page 14)

Colossians 3:23 (NIV)  Whatever you do,  work at it with all your heart,  as working for the Lord,  not for men.  Who is your audience?  For whom do you live your life?  Live for the Lord because  “only His approval assuages insignificance and loneliness and feelings of failure.  Only He keeps perfect score.  He is the One who issues the call and convenes the games.  He is the one who will judge the efforts  and award the medals.  His is…

Matthew 19:13 (NIV)  Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place his hands on them and pray for them…  “Common wisdom maintains that children are given to parents so parents can instruct them.  The truth is,  God gives children to parents to teach the parents some things…like patience,  discipline,  self-sacrifice,  responsibility,  mercy,  and hope—but also exquisite joy and celebration,  the meaning of legacy,  and a glimpse  of eternity.”  The fundamental need of children is to receive our…

Psalm 119:164 (NLT)  I will praise you seven times a day…   On this Thanksgiving Day,  make a fresh determination to STAY GRATEFUL!  Gratitude provides the basis for contentment.  In our changing world we must choose to live in an ongoing attitude of gratitude.  As we incorporate it into our emotional,  psychological and spiritual lifestyle it serves as a powerful antidote to discouragement.  It cuts off our entry to the Pity Party.  “It helps us focus on what we have, …

John 13:34 (NIV)  A new command I give you.  Love one another.  As I have loved you,  so you must love one another.  Christian love cannot make the giving of love contingent on the actions and attitudes of others.  Jesus didn’t.  His inner circle fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane.  They deserted Him.  Still,  He loved them.  God calls us to reflect His steadfast love toward  “people who do not get it,  who are too proud to admit they…

II Timothy 2:3 (NLT)  Endure suffering along with me,  as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  The Apostle Paul encouraged his mentee,  Timothy,  to stand strong in the Lord and look for God in times of suffering.  “C.S. Lewis gave us that fabulous insight that God whispers to us in our pleasure,  but shouts to us in our pain.  Everyone suffers some form of pain,  physical or psychological.”  When we seek God in the middle of pain,  we can grow…

Genesis 12:1 (MSG)  God told Abram:  “Leave your country,  your family,  and your father’s home for a land that I will show you.”  God is always taking us someplace new.  The Bible narratives are replete with journey stories—people moving from here to there,  launching out,  exploring,  expanding,  and inspired to growth.  Abraham departed Ur in obedience to God’s call.  Jesus left Heaven to come rescue us.  When it is a  “God thing,”  there is always purpose involved with new levels…

Psalm 121:1-2 (TPT)  I look up to the mountains and hills,  longing for God’s help.  But then I realize that our true help and protection come only from the Lord,  our Creator who made the heavens and the earth.  He will guard and guide me,  never letting me stumble or fall.  God is my keeper,  He will never forget nor ignore me.  He will never slumber nor sleep;  He is the Guardian-God for His people…  The psalmist looked up at…

Psalm 104:33-34 (TPT)  I will sing my song to the Lord as long as I live!  Every day I will sing my praises to God.  May you be pleased with every sweet thought I have about you,  for you are the source of my joy and gladness.   Music and meditation originate in the Psalms.  How simple is praise;  yet,  how profound its effect!  As you prepare for a season of thanksgiving,  recognize its importance in the whole scheme of…

I Thessalonians 5:18 (TPT)  And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks,  for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.   Life comes pre-packaged with trouble;  but prayer gives us access to a never-ending supply of wisdom and encouragement.  We worship in spite of our problems.  We view heartaches as opportunities for greater reliance on the Giver of Life.  We discover new provisions through Jesus Christ,  our Lord.  Give thanks today no matter what your…

Philippians 4:6-9  (TPT)  Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing.  Be saturated in prayer throughout each day,  offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude.  Tell Him every detail of your life,  then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding,  will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ. Paul gives us the answer to overcoming worry.  Pray,  with thanksgiving,  over every concern.  He doesn’t expect us to pretend that we don’t have problems; …

Matthew 5:23-24 (TPT)  So then,  if you are presenting a gift before the altar in the temple,  and suddenly you remember a quarrel you have with a fellow believer,  leave your gift there in front of the altar,  and go at once to apologize to the one who is offended.  Then,  after you have reconciled,  come to the altar and present your gift.  “The Jewish Law focused on behavior:  Do not murder.  But God’s deeper concern is with human motives…

Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV)  (Jesus teaching) You have heard… ”Do not murder”…  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.”   Jesus provides tremendous insight into human behavior in this one verse.  If our thoughts lead to feelings,  and our feelings lead to actions,  then how important is it for us to learn to think on  “whatsoever is true,  noble,  right,  pure,  lovely,  admirable,  excellent,  and praiseworthy”  so that  “the God of…

Colossians 3:15  (TPT)  …As members of one body you are called to live in peace…  “Human relationships were designed to be fueled and filled by righteousness.  To the degree we give in to the urging of our flesh nature,  we will fail to experience righteous or fulfilling relationships.  To the degree we practice those things God commands,  our relationships will become a sampling of heaven on earth.  Choose peace to govern all your relationships.”

Colossians 2:8-9  (TPT)  Beware that no one distracts you or intimidates you in their attempt to lead you away from Christ’s fullness by pretending to be full of wisdom when they’re filled with endless arguments of human logic. For they operate with humanistic and clouded judgments based on the mindset of this world system, and not the anointed truths of the Anointed One. For He is the complete fullness of deity living in human form.  “In this age of religious…

Colossians 1:27  (TPT) Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory!  This mystery of Christ,  embedded within us,  becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for His people… God wants us to know that  “Christ in you (is) the hope of glory” (KJVS).  As long as we nurture our connection with Jesus Christ,  good things will continually emerge—like fruit on a tree.  We will not be stuck in…

Colossians 1:20  (TPT) By the blood of His cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to Himself—back to its original intent,  restored to innocence again.  Only through Jesus Christ is there sufficiency and power to bring the world into order,  to reorient all things that exist ajar from God’s original purposes.  Jesus is Lord.  Jesus is adequate.  His authority encompasses the whole material and spiritual universe (1:16).  He is Creator and Sustainer and preeminent over all things.  As…

Colossians 1:13  (TPT)  He (God) has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son.  For in the Son all our sins are canceled and we have the release of redemption through His very blood.   Sin holds a grip on people’s souls,  yet they live unaware.  We have become so accustomed to living in a world filled with wars,  disease,  violence,  fractured relationships,  human trafficking,  child pornography, …

Colossians 1:10  (TPT)  We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness,  pleasing God in every good thing you do.  Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches,  yielding to His life,  and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in His fullness!  Remarkable blessings await those who choose to live in covenant relationship with God (see Deut. 28).  What gets in the way of that?  Jonah ran away from his God-given assignment (Jonah 1:1-3);  Sampson caved in to…

John 14:27 (NKJV)  Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you;  not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  Do you need to repent over the ways you have searched for peace from sources other than God?  Lay at the Lord’s feet the parts of your heart that are filled with worry.  He wants to rule and reign in those places.  Jesus wants to…

Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)  …fix your thoughts on what is true,  honorable,  right,  pure,  lovely,  and admirable…excellent and worthy of praise.   Do you want to live in the perpetual peace of God?  Then take control of your thoughts.  Fix your thoughts on what is true…and the God of peace will be with you (vs 9).  Reorient your thoughts toward praise and gratitude rather than complaint.  Don’t dwell on the little whispers of the enemy that incite fear and anxiety.  Recognize…

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)  Do not be anxious about anything,  but in everything,  by prayer and petition,  with thanksgiving,  present your requests to God.  And the peace of God,  which transcends all understanding,  will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  If we are going to live in the perpetual PEACE of God,  then we must be people of prayer:  praying about everything and praying all the time.  Don’t have  “moments of prayer”  but a  “lifestyle of prayer.”  Ongoing…

Mark 4:38a (NLT)  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. (Be sure to read the whole narrative.)  Do you want to live from a core sense of PEACE? Become more aware of the presence of the Lord. The miracle began the moment the disciples remembered Jesus was WITH THEM in the boat. They were overcome by anxiety and fear until they accessed His presence. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are not doing life alone. He is…

Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT)  For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ,  and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself.  He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.   On the cross Jesus made PEACE part of our spiritual inheritance.  The endless reign of Jesus Christ (“Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6-7) brings peace into our hearts and minds as we give Him endless reign (Lordship over every…

John 20:19 (TPT)  That evening the disciples gathered together.  And because they were afraid of reprisals from the Jewish leaders,  they had locked the doors to the place where they met.  But suddenly Jesus appeared among them and said,  “Peace to you!”  What was the first word Jesus said to His disciples after the resurrection?  Peace.  In the New Testament,  the word peace has a very different meaning from the way we typically use it.  When we use the word, …

Luke 4:9b (NIV) …”If you are the Son of God,” (Satan) said,  “throw yourself down from here.”  Satan is always twisting scripture,  taking it out of context and using confusing quotes.  He did it with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,  and he attempted it with Jesus.  But Jesus knew He did not need to throw Himself off a high tower to get people’s attention.  He did not need to put Himself at unnecessary risk in order to…

Luke 4:7-8 (NIV)  (The devil said) “So if you worship me,  it will all be yours.”  Jesus answered,  “It is written:  ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”   Every day,  we face temptations to shortcut the long trek of discipleship for quick fixes and easy answers.  It is all too easy to compromise our faith when our prayers seem to go unanswered,  and our souls enter a dark night that seems to contradict everything we ever believed…

Luke 4:1-4 (focus verse 4) (NLT)  Jesus answered,  “It is written:  ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”  Jesus’  ministry began with forty days of hunger and heat in the desert,  not glory and accolades.  When He was at His weakest point,  the devil tempted Him to misuse His power for personal gratification.  Jesus responded with the words of Moses (one well acquainted with desert life).  He knew that life does not consist of satisfying selfish desires.  The Father had…

Luke 5:4b (NLT)  …(Jesus) said to Simon,  “Now go out where it is deeper,  and let down your nets to catch some fish.”   Peter (Simon) was an experienced fisherman.  He questioned Jesus’  command,  yet respected Him enough to obey.  “Because you say so,  I will” (vs. 5 NIV).  His simple obedience led to a miracle (the huge catch of fish) and a revelation that Peter’s personal best could not compare with Christ’s remarkable power.  Sometimes our best efforts seem…

Luke 19:13b (NLT)  …”invest this for me while I am gone.” (Read the verses 11-27 for the full context).   God has gifted each one of us with incredible potential.  Use your gifts wisely.  Encourage and strengthen the people around you.  Serve in selfless ways that reflect the Father’s love.  Be a good steward of the life of God within you.  Why do some people live so far beneath their potential and  “roll up their gifts into a piece of…

Luke 18:38 (NLT)  So (the blind beggar) began shouting,  “Jesus,  Son of David,  have mercy on me.”   The blind man was yelling to get Jesus’  attention.  At some point in life,  people can find themselves sidelined by losses,  grief,  illness,  and life’s hardest hits.  It takes intentionality to get up out of that place and move on.  Persistence and the raw determination to overcome resistance even when people are telling you to  “be quiet” (vs. 39)  are sometimes necessary…

Mark 14:36 (NIV) (read verses 32-36)  Focus words of Jesus:  “Yet not what I will,  but what you will.”  At some point in life each one of us will experience a  “Gethsemane moment.”  The Passion Bible describes Jesus in that garden:  “An intense feeling of great horror plunged his soul into deep sorrow and agony…(he told His disciples:  “It feels as though I’m dying.”)  And then he prayed and asked God,  “don’t allow me to drink this cup of suffering! …

Exodus 3:8 (NIV)  So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians…  God revealed His purpose to Moses.  He was intent on intervening for his people in response to their distress:  “I have come to rescue them.”  That is the theme of the entire Bible,  which points to Jesus Christ our deliverer.  He invites us into a relationship that progressively leads us out of darkness and into light,  away from bondage and into freedom.  It…

Exodus 3:7 (NIV)  The LORD said,  “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.  I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,  and I am concerned about their suffering.”   God revealed Himself to Moses as a compassionate God who is cognizant of the plight of his people whose affliction He sees,  whose cry He hears,  and whose sorrows He knows.  When God looks across our world today,  He sees the tears of the…

Exodus 2:15 (NIV)  When Pharaoh heard of this,  he tried to kill Moses,  but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian,  where he sat down by a well.  God had to take Moses into the desert of Midian to save him from the wrath of Pharaoh.  It was there that Moses had an opportunity to think and find himself as  “he sat down by a well.”  In the desert God would  “drain Moses of all self-sufficiency and…

Acts 7:24b (NLT)  He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite.  So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him,  killing the Egyptian…   What he saw aroused Moses to action;  but it was  “an impetuous action of self-effort that was void of reliance upon God.  All the knowledge and wisdom he had acquired in Egypt’s institutes of learning was not adequate to equip him for the work of God.”  To his surprise,  his attempt to avenge his Hebrew brothers…

Acts 7:23 – (KJV)  And when he  (Moses)  was full forty years old,  it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.   (MSG)  When he was forty years old,  he wondered how everything was going with his Hebrew kin and went out to look things over. What Moses saw aroused him to action.  There comes a time in life when we must take an intentional walk outside our comfort zones and take a long,  hard…

Mark 9:7 (NIV)  “…this is my Son, whom I love…”  Every son needs to hear these words from his father.  When we know we are loved,  it creates capacity within us to endure the difficult stuff of life.  Jesus endured the cross in the echo of those words.  On March 1,  the song  “The Blessing”  was introduced to the world—a  prophetic word for God’s people to hold onto during the pandemic,  a song about our Father’s care.  It became a…

Romans 8:14 (Passion Translation)  The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.  You are the CEO of your own spiritual growth path.  Nobody else will be concerned about your inner growth—people measure performance.  Take responsibility to develop your infrastructure (the inner person) as you partner with the Holy Spirit.  YOU make the choices:  how you spend your time,  what you invest into,  what you entertain in your mind.  If you do…

Romans 8:5 (Passion Translation) …those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities.   When you have a healthy soul,  spiritual gifts are engaged and you are pouring out from the Spirit of God within you.  You have discernment and ever expanding ways of connecting with God that enable you to serve out of the overflow of that relationship.  When you have a healthy soul you do the work of self-leadership that is…

John 10:10 (NIV)  …I (Jesus) have come that they may have life,  and have it to the full.  The symptoms of a healthy soul include:  a sense of God’s abiding presence in this moment;  peace and joy (fruit of the Spirit) confidence and faith balanced with humility;  a sense of safety;  a sense of purpose;  energy;  attentiveness to others.   But the symptoms of a sick soul include:  loss of a sense of real-time connection with God;  anger,  anxiety,  stress; …